JAKARTA - Israel will be represented by its ambassador to the Vatican to attend Pope Francis' funeral this weekend, when most major countries will send heads of state or government, or aristocrats.
Israel last sent a presidential delegation to the funeral of a whale who died while in office, Pope John Paul II in 2005.
According to the Israeli Embassy in the Vatican, the Israeli delegation will be represented at the funeral of Fransiskus by Yaron Sideman, who has been his ambassador since September.
The decision to defend representatives at the lowest possible level is a sign of how far Israel's relations with the Vatican have deteriorated since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, diplomats said.
"This is the lowest point in a spiral," said a diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"I hope both sides can overcome the differences and get out of this together," he continued.
Previously, the Israeli government decided to delete social media posts expressing condolences for the death of the Pope.
Shortly after Fransiskus' death was announced on Monday, the verified @Israel account used by the government in X published a message that read: "Rest in peace, Pope Francis. May the memories be a blessing".
The message also shows a picture of the Pope visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Later, the post was later deleted without explanation. The Jerusalem Post quoted an official at the foreign ministry as saying the post had been published for "mistake".
The Israeli embassy in the Vatican has restricted its social media reaction to Pope Francis' death by re-uploading a message of condolences from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who described Francis as "a man of deep faith and infinite mercy".
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, has not commented on the whale's death until Wednesday afternoon.
Relations between the Vatican and Israel have steadily deteriorated since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage to Gaza.
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, Palestinian health authorities said, and most of the 2.3 million people have fled.
A month after the conflict began, a complicated dispute ensued over whether Pope Francis had used the word "genocide" to describe events in Gaza.
Palestinians who met him said the Pope used the word genocide. Meanwhile, the Vatican said the Pope did not use it. On the same day, the Pope met with relatives of Israeli hostages on the same day.
After the start of the war, Israel's Ambassador to the Vatican at the time, Raphael Schutz, lobbied the Vatican State Secretariat repeatedly at the end of 2023 and throughout 2024, asking the Pope to take a firmer stance in condemning Hamas.
"There are simple differences, one party kills, rapes and doesn't care about their own side. Others are involved in the self-defense war," Schutz said in 2023.
Last year, after Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Israel's response to the "disproportionate" Hamas attack, the Israeli embassy issued a statement calling his comments "sad".
The embassy then defused his criticism, citing a translation error, but the relationship remained strained.
Last June, Archbishop Paul Gallagher was seen reprimanding Schutz at an event they attended.
"The Holy Throne does not close its doors to anyone and seeks to understand everyone's motivation and perspective," Gallagher said.
"In this case, it is highly appreciated when the respective authorities' positions are delivered on time through appropriate forums and diplomatic channels."
Last November, Pope Francis, who visited the Holy Land in 2014, in November, proposed that the global community learn whether Israel's military campaign in Gaza was genocide, in some of its most evident criticisms so far of Israel's behavior in its war with Hamas.
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In January, the Pope also called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "embarrassing", sparking criticism from Roma's Jewish head Riccardo Di Segni who accused Pope Francis of having "selective anger".
In Segni this week paid tribute to Pope Francis, visiting his body in the chapel of the Vatican residence where he died.
He also said he would attend Pope Francis' funeral, although the funeral was held on Jewish Sabare Day.
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